Vodafone smart Ultra 6 not seeing SIM or Wifi

[jefmcg]

My phone was working fine this morning except failing to recognise presses to the soft buttons (back, home and menu), so I rebooted and those buttons started working, but it wouldn't connect  to wifi or mobile network.  

I bit the bullet and did a factory reset, but I can't progress because because it won't recognise SIM cards (tried 2 different network cards) and it if I skip that, I see no wifi networks (there are dozens, including mine).

Anything else I can try?  It's well out of warranty so if I can't fix it at home, it means a new phone.

Thanks

[jefmcg]

Ugh.  It's rebooted itself twice since I posted this.  I think it's probably dead

[BandOfBrothers]

Can you try your sim card in another phone as a process of elimination to rule out the sim card. 

The phone has a 24 month manufacturing warranty- has that definitely run out. 

If so you can still send it off but a charge maybe levied. 

[jefmcg]

Thanks for the response.  

I slightly simplified the story.  At first it did recognise the SIM, but got stuck on the next step "Checking connection" for so long I rebooted,  so I am sure the SIM is ok.

If finally decided to see WiFi networks, and I was able to connect to my home WiFi, and now it's been saying "checking connection" to the WiFi network for several minutes.  I think that is longer than the mean when they say "This can take a while"

Purchased Jan '16.  I can't see it's worth spending money on a repair to a 2 year old phone that cost £109.

[jefmcg]

Update.  It's now successfully connecting to mobile network or - with SIM removed Wifi.  But I get stuck on the checking connection screen.

This seems to be a common problem, but all the workarounds suggested by google don't seem to work.  I am on a screen with "SKIP >" greyed out, and there is no way to get to settings, or desktop or a screen saver (various suggestions I have read on google).  Anyone know how to bypass this on the Ultra 6?

[BandOfBrothers]

You are very welcome. 

I agree one needs to weigh up how much time, effort and cost is worth investing in trying to remedy an ongoing issue. 

A Vodafone High street Store might be able to help but a Tech Cost could be levied for an appointment. 

If this was my situation i would consider upgrading the handset / buying another if the sim card works as it should in another phone. 

[jefmcg]

I seem to have fixed it!  After much desperation, I managed to install fresh software.

I'll put the full details here, as someone else may have the same problem. 

WARNING: it involves downloading software from a 3rd party site.  Proceed with caution, it may contain trojans or other malware.  But if - like me - your phone is effectively bricked, it's worth the small gamble.

I downloaded an older version of the software from a link on modaco, http://download.ztedevice.com/device/global/support/product/643/5865/sd/2016041213291898.zip.  Unzip that  and copy update.zip to your micro sd card**. Then on the  phone to the reset menu (by powering it down, and then pressing the volume up and power buttons together and holding them until the android logo appears).  On the menu, use the volume button to select "Update from SD card" (or something like that), press the power button and  then pick update.zip.

That's all it took!  The phone rebooted and I was able to proceed through the setup.  That left me back with Lollipop, so I am currently downloading Marshmallow.  I'll report back when things are back to normal (or - please no! - still broken)

**I actually did the update over ADB not from SD card, but it should work the same from an SD card, and doesn't require installing software on your computer.

[jefmcg]

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@jefmcgwrote:  I'll report back when things are back to normal (or - please no! - still broken).

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Update date finished.  Looking good.   

[TJ]

That's great to hear @jefmcg 😊 Keep us updated and don't hesitate to pop back to us with any further queries, we'll be happy to help!